Chimaev Weighed 105kg When UFC 328 Fight Announced, Brother Says

Hamzat Chimaev arrived at UFC 328 severely compromised by a brutal weight cut, according to his older brother Said in a recent interview with journalist Vadim Tikhomirov that sheds new light on the welterweight contender's performance against Sean Strickland at the May 9 event.

Said explained that when the fight was announced in March, Chimaev was sitting at 105 kilograms, having prepared his body to compete at light heavyweight against Jiri Prochazka. The last-minute shift to middleweight left him with an enormous amount of weight to shed. With two weeks remaining before UFC 328, he still registered 97 kilograms on the scale. The cut took a severe physical toll, and with 1.2 kilograms still to go, his body shut down entirely, forcing a one-hour pause before he could complete the process. After making weight, Chimaev managed to rehydrate only five to six kilograms before stepping into the cage.

Sean Strickland, the reigning middleweight champion, enters this discussion as a 35-year-old American fighting out of Xtreme Couture. He carries a record of 31 wins and 7 losses and is known for relentless forward pressure, landing 6.04 significant strikes per minute. His reach measures 76 inches, or 193 centimeters. Prochazka, the Czech light heavyweight contender ranked second in his division, holds a 32-6-1 record and stands six-foot-three with an 80-inch reach, averaging 5.69 significant strikes per minute with 55 percent striking accuracy.

Why it matters

• Chimaev's camp reports his body was never properly prepared for middleweight, raising questions about the fight's competitive fairness
• A rematch request has been submitted for October in Abu Dhabi, which would have significant middleweight title implications
• The weight-cut timeline suggests Chimaev was potentially negotiated into a different division late in camp, though no official confirmation of those circumstances has been provided